Failure
by AutumnsFey
Summary: Iemitsu had been so excited to see his family finally again. What he hadn't really expected was the door smashing in his face, or his son being a curious mix of just awakening sky and disgruntled teenager. But he had all the time in the world to fix this ... right? It's not as if this was last chance, Tsuna would forgive him, he always did. And still, his Intuition screamed ...
**T** **wilight** had descended upon the quiet unassuming town of Namimori, bringing on its fleeting wings the first chills of a cooling night-breeze and submerging the world in an explosion of awe-inspiring colors. Like dipping from the ardent paintbrush of a masterful artist, twilight came in all its glory, painting in wide passionate streaks limitless nuances of red and orange and yellow while letting pinks and violets flow into creation with beautiful strips of greenish turquoise and blues. An enchanting symphony of colors created by nature itself, portraying playfully a breathtaking composition of harmony that flooded the senses and captured them in torrents of purest delight.

The tilted roofs glittered in a golden hue, glowing like fire in the dying daylight, illuminated by the rays of the disappearing sun. The skyline was bathed in a myriad of warm shades while the nearly translucent decreasing sickle moon crowned the sky.

Japanese houses of varying sizes and preferences stood along the perfectly ordinary street on which he confidently strode along, purpose in every step as his sharp brown gaze swiped through the empty paved road, a hint of nostalgia burrowed behind the calculating mind shown. Children laughter sounded in the air and the mouth-watering smell of grilled food wafted from various backyards. Briefly smiling to himself, the blond-haired man hoisted his travel bag further up and adjusted his spotless work clothes, the baggy orange construction worker jump suit and tight white undershirt emphasizing his strong defined body. An exited gleam entered his eyes as a familiar modest house came into view, a house that practically screamed safety, home and ordinariness for everyone to see. A perfect home for his perfect little family.

And one of the most beautiful sights his sore longing eyes had ever seen.

His two greatest loves didn't even know that he was coming home today, but Sawada Iemitsu didn't let that deter his excitement and happiness at finally seeing his beloved wife and darling little boy again. Coming to a halt in front of the closed gate he took in the blunt kanji proclaiming the house as the Sawada residence like a drowning man grasping at a lifeline, pride and completeness competing for the top spot inside his heart.

Finally. He was finally home.

It had been eight years since he had last passed this gate and nearly as long since he had last personally spoken with his adorable clumsy son. At the time it had not been a decision he had wanted to make, but one born from the necessity of protecting those he loved more than anything else.

And protection had been more necessary than even he had imagined at that time, especially after Nono's own sons had started dying beneath the old man's desperately grasping hands, brutally taken from their father. To this day Iemitsu thanked his Vongola blood and the deep intuition he had inherited, for warning him away from too much obvious contact with his own boy. Nono and his guardians were the only ones left who knew about his son, and Iemitsu would move heaven and hell to make sure it stayed that way.

He couldn't care less for the succession line, there was still Xanxus, Nono's youngest, even if he wasn't ideal, but he would do, because Iemitsu would not allow that life to taint his innocent child. A child so sweet and pure the mafia would eat him alive.

He was painfully aware that his little boy wouldn't see his father's absence in Iemitsu's way, couldn't see it that way. However should he be able to? Without the pertaining facts laid bare? Tsuna's silence had made his opinion very clear, but Iemitsu would not lose one of the two most important persons in his life.

At least Nana still talked to him, even though she hadn't been able to make Tsuna break his silence. It wore away at him, this passive-aggressiveness Nana had told him Tsuna had mastered perfectly. He longed to hear his son's voice, hear that high-pitched cute screech whenever something embarrassing happened. But it had been nearly seven years since he had had that privilege removed.

It nearly broke his heart and mind, and made his possessive sky flames scream in absolute agony to be denied like that, no matter how much he deserved it. Some days, he was so freaking angry at his circumstances that he could barely function and was a depressed lump of regrets, other days he only wanted to burrow himself in his bed and cry at the fading pictures of his son he had hidden away.

Iemitsu was a wreck.

A sky denied his family was a pitiful thing to see.

However, Sawada Iemitsu hadn't earned himself the moniker Young Lion of Vongola merrily for his bright hair color; he had never given up and had always fought for those he claimed as his with a ferocity that was already nearly legendary. He would not accept the loss of his own flesh and blood. He would not submit to despair. Tsunayoshi was his boy, and no matter how screwed up things were, he would put them right. A Lion never gave up.

With renewed determination in every step he closed the distance between the gate and front door, and pressed the bell.

His lips broadened into an honest grin as his Nana's lovely voice sounded from within, asking their son to open the door. He waited with bated breath and was rewarded with the sound of light footsteps approaching the door. A click, a creak and father and son looked at each other for the first time in eight years.

Iemitsu didn't dare to breathe.

His boy .. was utterly and completely perfect. Truly, beyond unearthly beautiful.

Dressed in a dark-red loose tank top with an oversized cream-colored cotton-long-shirt thrown over and paired with black skinny jeans as well as black flip flops, his son looked like a delicate Japanese model, straight from the summer runway. Iemitsu noticed with a touch of amusement that Tsuna was just as vertically-challenged, willowy and porcelain-skinned as his devastatingly beautiful mother, even sharing her light-brown hair-color displayed in that fluffy mop of curly hair he wore. But his eyes … his eyes.

They were an enchanting sunset-color.

Like the twilight sky.

Too beautiful to describe.

And even caught behind stylish, large, black-rimmed glasses, their expressive gaze was scorching Iemitsu to the soul.

The last time he had seen his darling child, the boy had been a tiny pink ball of fluff, too adorable for words. The teenager before him had never completely outgrown that adorableness, but his sinful body, fashionable clothing and delicate features put him firmly into the same category as his mother: devastatingly breathtakingly beautiful.

Iemitsu was so proud.

… and already contemplating the most unobtrusive way to spy on his baby boy and discover all that dirty nasty predators wanting to taint and take advantage of his oblivious innocent son.

Sunset-eyes blinked slowly at him and he knew that he was deliberately disinterested looked over. But whatever Tsuna saw, it didn't bring any kind of recognition, positive or negative, into his eyes. Instead, he looked plain disinterested and maybe even a touch apprehensive.

Iemitsu just beamed even brighter and struck a pose, a very spectacular pose, grinning winningly for all he was worth.

" Tuna-fishy!", he shouted excitedly, giving his slightly perturbed looking son enthusiastic thumbs up. " Daddy is here! Give daddy a kissy!"

Still grinning like a lunatic he dove with puckered lips at his perplexed child, expecting the once-familiar screech to sound out amidst childish giggling.

All he got were gigantic panicked eyes accompanying a frightened and disturbed expression mixed subtly with pure agitation.

His baby boy was annoyed.

And greeted him with a door smashing in Iemitsu's poor face.

Merda!

" Tuna-fishy!"

Light footsteps turned resolutely away.

 **N** **ursing** a warm cup of sake and munching sullenly on a plate of dango, Iemitsu grimaced as Nana gingerly touched his nose and gently dabbed the blood away.

He was happy enough that it wasn't broken. The door was massive wood and hit him directly on the nose. He had no idea what that little adorable brat had been thinking when he slammed it shut right into his father's delicate face, but he really hoped for both of their sakes that it wasn't intentional, because Iemitsu wasn't above grounding the boy. He was well aware that he had neglected his fatherly duties, and would need to earn them back, but physical violence as response was completely unacceptable, and he deserved at least a minute amount of respect from the child for the very fact that he helped bringing the unthankful brat into life.

Wincing when the disinfectant touched his sore nose, he bit viciously down on his dango stick.

And swallowed a bitter curse.

What a reunion.

At least his wonderful Nana was happy to see him again. She had hurried to the door at once as soon as their junior reported who had rung, and fallen lovingly right into his waiting arms, kissing him even while he still bled from the nose. After one good look at his maltreated face she wasted no time in patching him up. Still ...

That was his son. His little boy.

His little one shouldn't have violent tendencies when seeing his own loving father.

… who was he kidding?

Sighing Iemitsu laid the empty stick down and gripped his wife around the waist. He grinned slightly as she squealed and tugged her into his lap, enjoying her warm body pressing into his. it had been too long, and he knew that it was his fault. Nuzzling into her beautiful long neck he closed his eyes and breathed into her fresh flowery scent, so familiar. It smelled like coming home, like spring and comfort. Like all the good things he loved, and none of the bad. A little piece of heaven, and a little peace in hell.

Her skin was still so soft, and her body so sensual. She was simply so beautiful.

He laid soft fluttering kisses against her long elegant neck.

" I missed you, Anata", she smiled happily, kissing him lovingly.

He returned the kiss just as passionately.

" I missed you to, my love", he returned heartfelt, breathing hard.

Giggling she snuggled back under his chin and he tightened his arms around her.

He was home.

" Do you know what's going on with our son?", he asked her.

Nana just sighed and started playing with his fingers, her silky pale skin so soft and lovely against his rough tanned skin. He waited for an answer, and something, something a lot deeper than mere intuition, told him that he wouldn't like what he was about to be told.

She was too tense for good news.

" Tsu-kun is just behaving like … like a disappointed teenager, Anata."

He really didn't like that.

A disappointed teenager.

Or, in other words, he was behaving like a son who is disappointed in his father. Leaning his forehead against her crown, he took a deep breath and asked: " Then what do I do?"

She shrugged slightly, still playing with his fingers.

" I really don't know. He has changed so much in the last two years that sometimes I feel like he's a stranger. I have no idea what's going on in his life. I try to make myself believe that we are both perfectly happy and fine, but how can that be true if he not only avoids you but sometimes even me?"

That sounded bad. Really bad.

He had had no idea …

" How has he changed?", Iemitsu asked, stroking calmingly over her palm.

" You have seen his glasses?", she asked him and he nodded for her to continue. " He needs them because he spends day and night holed up in his room, tipping away at that laptop of his. And if it's not that, than he leaves in the early mornings before I'm awake and returns late in the evenings when it's nearly time to sleep. I haven't heard him whine or complain in months, and it's just so strange. Anata, he doesn't talk to me anymore … it feels like I'm losing my baby, and I want him back."

Her voice broke at the last word, a sob she seemed to have swallowed down for far too long escaping as she gripped his hands tightly, turning slightly to stare at him imploringly, like he had all the answers and solutions to life in his hands.

Biting his lips he turned her around and she sacked against him, burrowing her face in the crook of his neck. Hot tears soaked his white undershirt and tan skin. He rubbed her back, embracing her comfortingly.

Where did it go so wrong?

Nana und Tsuna had always been so tight, so in tune with each other. He was a momma's boy, so why would a boy who essentially worshipped the ground his mother walked on suddenly not only keep his distance but actively avoid her? I didn't make sense.

" Give him back to me."

He repressed a desperate sigh.

His family was breaking apart at the seams, and he hadn't seen it coming. He hadn't been there to counter it before it began to tear them apart, and now he was reaping what he sow. He only wished his mistake wouldn't come back to haunt those who were guiltless.

He had known that it would be difficult, but never did he imagine anything like this happening.

All he could do was fight for those he loved. He would not give up.

He would not abandon them again.

Not like this.

" I'll try, dear, I promise", he swore solemnly to his wife, taking her hand and kissing it. " I'll try all that I can to sit our errant junior straight and make him see sense."

She hiccupped and looked up at him through tearful eyes. Her small dainty hands reached out and cupped his cheeks lovingly.

" Don't be too forceful, please", she whispered anxiously.

He kissed her wrist gently, savoring the taste of her soft skin.

Sometimes memories are all he had, so he made the most of each precious moment.

" I promise, dear."

Sighing he leaned into Nanas touch and closed his eyes.

This was a promise he would hold. He had already broken more than enough for a lifetime, and in the process hadn't seen that he had broken that which he was always trying to protect.

He had gambled for their safety, and he had won. His family was safe. He just wasn't sure if the animosity his own flesh and blood harbored for him was worth it.

He really wasn't sure.

 **I** **emitsu** had never been a coward, but he also wasn't stupid, and contrary to what some may believe, he loved his little family to death.

He had always comforted himself with the excuse that it was better to see them safe and happy without him then threatened or dead with him. It was that reality that had kept him going on when he wanted nothing more than to finally step onto the next damn plane to Namimori and be what he had always wanted to be: a husband and father.

Never would he have imagined that there would come a day when he was apprehensive of confronting his own son.

Nana had accepted him back readily enough, she always forgave him, but Tsuna ... Tsuna was still so young. And he been forced to live without a father for so long ...

Iemitsu had managed to assure his screaming conscience with platitudes and taken on a young boy named Basil, who was the same age as his own son, to train as his successor, as the next head of CEDEF. Who was there for Tsuna in his stead?

He needed to man up. Boxing both ears and burrowing his head had stopped working a while ago, now it was time to face the music.

Behind that inconspicuous door waited his baby boy, and he would let neither circumstances, his own idiocy nor Tsuna's justified assumptions come between them. Even if he had to beg on his hands and knees, he would do it. Nothing was too humiliating to make him reconsider. Sometimes you have to swallow your pride and beg on bended knees, and today Iemitsu would forsake his pride completely if only it gained him just one little smile from his boy.

He took a deep breath, stepped into the room and closed the door behind himself.

Brown eyes immediately sought out the one who owned half of his heart.

His beloved child sat on the windowsill, a sketchbook open on his lap and an orange coloring pencil loosely in his hands. Black-rimmed glasses sat nestled comfortably in his wild dark-brown strands, which fell unruly in his big sunset-colored eyes. Eyes, which were tinted in a beautiful golden-orange hue, and glowed enchantingly in the dying twilight.

Tsuna didn't turn his way.

Iemitsu hadn't expected him to.

His son simply continued coloring, his hand steady as he skipped between gentle and blunt strokes, his grip sometimes loose and sometimes strong. Iemitsu continued watching. There was something so tranquil in this moment, something so natural and innocent, and he was truly loath to break it. So in lieu of it, he sat down on the only chair in the room and continued to watch.

Surprisingly, for someone who welcomed action, he found out that patiently watching his child was something he could do all day.

" I love the twilight", his childs gentle voice sounded softly through the evening air.

Iemitsu kept silent, listening intently.

There was something, some tone to that melodic voice that spoke intimately to his intuition and told him to wait.

" In this one moment every day, the sky is lit up in a truly enchanting display of natural colors."

That was true. Iemitsu himself loved to look out of the window and take in the sky. It was a beautiful spectacle.

And it gave him a sense of peace he was seldom able to enjoy.

" It is nature's way of gifting us inspiration, art, passion. Red, orange, yellow, turquoise, blue, pink violet. All their shades and nuances, their flowing sinuous beauty. It's the theory of colors proven in a breathtaking arrangement. And there are so many possibilities to find it in nature if one only looks. Be it in the twilight, or in a rainbow. You can even find in the way we define the weather and give it attributes. It's even set in the way we use colors to define empathic auras."

Iemitsu couldn't do anything but smile. The quiet reverence in his baby boy's voice was breathtaking, and he loved it dearly.

" Do you love the rainbow too, Tou-san?"

He did, nodding his head affirmative with a small agreeing sound, his heart lighter than he could remember it being anytime in the last nearly eight years.

He had expected hate, scorn, insults … not … not that.

Tou-san.

Tsuna called him Tou-san. Father.

He had no idea how one world could mean so much to him.

Concentrating on their conversation so Tsuna would keep talking, Iemitsu thought that he understood only too well how easy it was to love the rainbow.

He only hoped his son never learned why.

" Have you ever thought about how we define ourselves and our environment in colors?", Tsuna asked him quietly.

" I haven't", Iemitsu lied softly, his throat dry.

One more lie.

Would this never end?

" That is sad."

And his son truly did look sad. He looked at his father with eyes so beautiful and sad it nearly ripped Iemitsu's heart in two.

His ... his son looked so sad on … on his fathers, on Iemitsu's behalf.

He definitely didn't deserve such true consideration.

" Red is passion. It is violence and love so intimately entwined that sometimes there is no visible point where one begins and the other ends. Always moving, always there. It can go as dark as crusted blood and as bright as cherry pink. Light and dark and always so meaningful, emotional. It's color that calls to our baser instincts."

Like the storm, furious and never resting, always in the center of action.

" Blue is calming. It is flowing and always changing, ranking from happy carefree nuances like sky-blue to dark and deep shades that seem bottomless. It can bring happiness and wash your worries away just as it can lure you in and drown you in unexpected depths or violent tides. But blue is always comforting."

Like the rain, washing away sorrows in a blessed shower.

" Yellow is so happy and intensive. It always burns brightly and nearly nothing negative can stay in its way. It brings forth unrepentant cheerfulness. Yellow in itself can sometimes seem too much, but without it where would the warmth be?"

Like the sun, negating negativity and shining brightly.

" Green is positive and lucky. It is a color of growing and flourishing. Green is categorized as a cold color, but I always thought it depended on where on the scale it's settled down. A bit more blue and it can be forest green, looking mysterious or down-to-earth, a bit more yellow and the brightness reminds of fresh grass, limes or the Caribbean Sea. It's so drenched in positivity, it captures attention whenever one sees it."

Like lightning, drawing attention to itself and taking on the damage to provide hope.

" Purple is ambivalent. Some may even say cold. But what is often forgotten, is that Purple is created when you mix red and blue, something that connects calmness and violence, coldness and warmth. There are so many nuances, so many influences on how purple can be interpreted. Standing on its own, it is the color with the richest variant of shades, beauty without compare and still mixing with other colors to expand it. It can't be caught in a single moment, it has to be experienced."

Like a cloud, aloof, drifting, independent, but fiercely protective of what they consider as their own.

" Indigo is like an illusion. At first it seems blue, then purple. From within Indigo both can grow. It is a color that makes others take notice and still common enough in its deceptive color range that it can go unnoticed. But only once it stands on its own and can completely blossom does indigo show its true beauty."

Like the mist, bewildering its foes and protecting in bewitching deceit what matters the most.

" Orange is warm. It's attention grabbing and bright and at first it seems like it goes with none of the other colors. But that is wrong. Orange can create the most enlightening contrasts as well as the most enchanting compositions; it harmonizes with the colors around it. It sometimes seems lonely, in its warm brightness, but in the end it is brightly interwoven in the circle of colors, an integral part on which to fall back on to."

Like the sky, encompassing and harmonizing with all its weathers.

Iemitsu was nearly breathless once his child ended his explanation. He hadn't known what to expect, but that did not feature into his wildest expectations. This … it was the guardian system – the theory of the seven flames of heaven! And it … how?

Tsuna had no way of knowing about flames, or guardians, or the mafia. That, Iemitsu knew with absolute certainty.

He tried to calm his racing heart down, but the bubbling intuitive fear in his stomach had been ripped open into an abyss of dread. How?

This couldn't be right!

He had done everything he could to make sure that his little boy would never be forced to have any kind of contact with the mafia, but if his flames, if his blood became active ... he had only wanted a comfortable normal life for his son.

With flames … that … it wouldn't be … possible … no …

He ... he needed to know.

He needed to know if Tsuna truly had no idea.

His hands were sweating as he forced himself to look into those unique eyes, noting the faraway look in them. Swallowing drily, he tried to find his voice again.

" How … did you come to that explanation?", Iemitsu asked, trying to cover his nervousness.

The only explanation was ...

But it couldn't be ...

He wished with all he had for a plausible answer disproving his disturbing theory.

" Doesn't everyone?", his child asked innocently, a serene smile on petal-like lips. " It just seems so self-evident."

Vongola Hyper Intuition.

Merda!

Iemitsu felt like despair gripped his heart, strangling it painfully. He had begged, pleaded and bargained so much for Tsuna's freedom, had prayed to any deity who deigned to listen that the blood of their ancestor had thinned too much for Tsuna to become involved, but it seems that his son inherited more than just an uncanny likeness to Vongola Primo, their Italian progenitor. Hyper Intuition always went along with a supremely strong and pure sky flame. And the characterization of the attributes of heaven and their linking to actual human behavior was more than just mere coincidence; it was a sign, a wake-up call.

It was a threat against his child, a terrible promise of times to come.

Tsuna deserved so much more.

It was not right.

" Why ...", he coughed roughly, the words sticking in his dry throat, dread like vultures clawing at his insides. " How did ... How did you come to contemplate so much about this topic?"

Tsuna cocked his head to the sight and smiled calmly: " It was part of my final project in art."

Iemitsu took a deep breath and tried to settle his mind.

An … art project?

A freaking art project had woken his Hyper Intuition?

Damn! Merda! Kuso!

" You have changed", he finally stated with a raw voice.

Tsuna simply raised an inquiring eyebrow.

" I'm a teenager. It would be abnormal if I didn't change."

Iemitsu sighed and pushed a hand through his hair, looking at his son with serious eyes.

" Your Kaa-san is really worried", he simply said.

His son flinched and bit his lips, brown bangs falling into those sunset eyes.

" … I never meant to worry Kaa-san. I'm just discovering who I am, what I like and how I want to spent my future", the child whispered, looking imploringly up at Iemitsu.

A slight smile tugged at the man's thin lips; he remembered that time of his childhood very well. It's never easy, and it often doesn't go like one expects, but that is life. And figuring it out is half of the problem to begin with.

„ No one said anything against that, but try to understand your Kaa-san too. You have always been so close to her, and suddenly her little boy starts to distance himself, ignoring her. Tsuna, it breaks her heart", Iemitsu explained softly, suppressing a wince at the harsh flinching of his child.

Those expressive beautiful eyes filled with tears and the little one started biting his lip, glancing away.

" I ...", Tsuna started, blining rapidly. " I … I promise to do better and … and spent more time with Kaa-san. I don't want to hurt her. I really don't."

Iemitsu nodded and stood up, stepping just before his child and gently lowering a hand on one thin shoulder.

Bile rose in his throat as he tried to ignore the involuntary flinch of the small frame, wide eyes staring at him questioningly. To have his own son flinch away through a mere touch …

He had royally fucked up.

No excuses.

" That's all I ask for", Iemitsu nodded. " I'm going to be here for some time, so we can catch up."

The uncertainty was back, in both of them.

" You don't … I don't want to be a bother. Really."

" Tuna-fishy, you could never be a bother. You are my little baby boy."

" Tou-san … I … "

" Come here."

Iemitsu drew Tsuna into a tight hug, ignoring the stiffening of those tiny shoulders and enjoyed the warmth of his child's body, the closeness he had been denied for so long.

He had planned to confront the boy, to get not only at the bottom of his secrets but to also find out exactly how strong his intuition was, but at the moment all he could see was a clearly distraught child feeling guilty and maybe even lost needing his father.

There were a lot of unresolved issues between them, and maybe he should press for them, but he honestly found himself unable to do so. Every instinct in him screamed for the need to ask now, to get the answer he desperately sought out, but just this once, he ignores it. Intuition and instinct be damned, all he wanted to be at this moment was a father. A shoulder for his son to lean and rely on. He was eight years too late, but he was here now, and he would not lose this fragile truce between them.

He was very aware that the second shoe had still to drop. The door in the face was the immediate reaction, but no matter how peaceful their talk had gone just now, once the shock of their reunion had worn away, Tsuna would return to being simply disappointed, and Iemitsu would have a hell of a time earning his forgiveness; forgiveness which was worth doing everything for.

He carefully hoisted Tsuna up and settled him at his hip, smiling satisfied as those slim legs automatically wrapped around his hips and thin arms surrounded his neck. Holding Tsuna tight, he settled on the bed and leaned back against the headboard, enjoying tremendously the precious weight curling up on his chest.

The first step was always the most precarious, but all things considered, they were off to a fairly good start despite certain violent reaction.

Iemitsu smiled and pressed a kiss to the fluffy head. Sleepy eyes looked blearily up at him and he chuckled deeply as the wild brown-haired head dropped back down to his chest, mumbling.

Yes, this was a good start.

 **H** **is** mobile phone rang shrilly while he was slowly stroking through his sons wild hair.

Sighing, Iemitsu picked up, trying to keep Tsuna asleep.

" Sawada", he answered.

" Iemitsu, you need to get back", Nono's voice sounded on the other end of the line, sounding terrifyingly old and brittle. " Now."

Merda.

This was a nightmare. It had to be.

He gulped and shook his head, his hand stilling on top of Tsuna's head.

" Nono, I can't. My family needs me. I'm needed here", he desperately tried to explain.

He had just arrived.

He had just managed to talk with Tsuna.

He would lose his son if he walked out now.

" Varia betrayed us."

… fuck.

" Merda!", he cursed.

That confirmed it. This was a nightmare!

If Vongola's Independent Execution Squad had truly betrayed the Famiglia, then he as head of the CEDEF, the External Advisor of the Vongola Don, was really needed back; it needed to be investigated. Why the hell would that brat do something so stupid? Xanxus wasn't the type to irrationally harm the Family, no, there was more behind this.

And it was Iemitsu's duty to discover what exactly that deeper motivation was.

Damn you, Xanxus!

" Si. You are needed here."

He knew …

… he knew that he couldn't escape this nightmare turned reality.

It didn't stop him from wishing to, though.

" Nono ...", he moaned painfully.

Nana … Tsuna …

His family.

" Xanxus had to be frozen", Nono said gravely, his voice rough. It was enough to make Iemitsu grow stiff. " Come back and give your son a few more years of innocence. Do it for the Family."

That old bastard … bringing Tsuna into it …

The ninth had frozen Xanxus, using Primo's Zero Point Breakthrough. It was the only viable explanation to his statement. And he would have only used that horrible technique if Xanxus had been so out of control that he was a true threat to the Family.

With Xanxus frozen, the only eligible heir, seeing as Iemitsu was inaccessible as boss of CEDEF, was his son.

Tsuna.

Little Tuna-fishy.

His baby boy.

No.

Nono had brought Iemitsu's child up, and both of them knew that the crafty old man had only done so to irrevocably make up his mind to return. He had left his family once to protect them, he would do so again, no matter how much it tore him apart.

He loved them more than he valued his soul and sanity.

" My plane ticket?"

His voice was heavy.

" Already purchased and waiting for you", his boss responded.

There never was a choice, was there?

" … I will be there."

No matter how much he didn't want to be.

" Hurry."

Sometimes … sometimes, no matter how much he loved Nono, sometimes he despised him even more.

" Ci vediamo."

He looked down at his peacefully sleeping child.

Tsuna, forgive me.

" **N** **ana** ...", he whispered.

His wife's back stayed turned, but he could see the tension and shaking of her shoulders.

She knew without him having to tell her, and he felt like the greatest bastard to leave her like this, to break her heart again and again.

It wasn't fair to either of them.

" Go … and come home soon", her sweet voice begged.

He stepped behind her and embraced her, burrowing his face in her soft brown hair. Just one moment, one moment was all he begged for.

Was it truly too much to ask for?

He sighed as he felt her silent shaking and held her tighter.

" I'll try", he promised earnestly, meaning it. " I'll try."

He felt her sigh more than he heard it and looked into her eyes as she turned around.

It was a wonder. A gift. This woman was truly an angel, beyond perfect.

He would do everything in his power to come back home to her, and he would not stop until he succeeded. It was the least he could do to his wonderful, breathtaking, loving, patient and faithful wife.

The very least.

" I love you, Anata."

He smiled at her. She returned his smile shakily.

" I love you too, my dearest. Tell Tsuna goodbye from me, we will talk later", he said lovingly.

" I promise", she responded just as gently.

They leaned into each other and shared a wonderful kiss, full of love and care and regret. He savoured every second of it.

He blinked as they separated and forced a grin on his face, trying to be as reassuring and optimistic as he could. She giggled watery.

Taking up his duffel bag, he hoisted it over his shoulder and left, the door falling shut with a finality that hit him to the core.

He stopped outside the gates and looked up towards Tsuna's room.

Iemitsu had left Tsuna asleep, the mere idea of explaining his unexpected departure too heavy to entertain. He knew that he had potentially blown his last chance with his child, but the hope of another chance kept him going.

He wouldn't allow Tsuna to be used, abused and twisted by the mafia, by a world that would eat a gentle and innocent soul like his son without as much as a moment's notice. No, he had always protected his greatest treasures, and he would continue to do so. Tsuna would live a worthwhile life, a life as he desires, and he would not be burdened with a legacy of blood, violence and death.

Iemitsu wouldn't allow it.

He blinked as his son appeared.

The child looked him straight in the eye, and for just one second he thought he saw an orange flicker on that pale forehead. Blinking rapidly, the illusion disappeared. And all he could see where the sunset-coloured eyes of the son who had started to let his father back in only to once again be disappointed.

As much as he did anything to protect his family, a part of him knew the truth.

He was a failure as father.

He failed at what mattered the most.

He failed in showing his son that his father loved him.

Tsuna turned away.

Iemitsu bowed his head.

It was no less than he deserved.

Someday, Tsuna …

Someday, I will tell you how much Tou-san loves you.

Someday.

 **W** **hat** Iemitsu didn't notice was the shadow besides his son, the tall silhouette of a familiar man he had only heard of in legends and seen in ostentatious portraits, clad in a heavy dark cloak and immaculate suit, gloved transparent hands resting gently on Tsuna's shoulders.

" Decimo ..."

Iemitsu didn't hear the pained whisper, and he didn't see his only son's eyes close in pained acceptance. He didn't feel the tightly controlled sky flame flicker in resignation and taint the tear running down Tsuna's cheek golden-orange.

He wasn't there to here is son's lost respond, the words of a child who was failed by his father to many times to surprise, a child who tried and tried and tried but couldn't stop caring.

He wasn't there.

" Alcune cose non cambieranno mai."

He wasn't there.

And they both knew it.

~ End ~

Ital.: _Alcune cose non cambieranno mai_ ; engl.: _Some things will never change._


End file.
